Alabama

Another costly fumble mars Mike Blakely's extended action for Auburn

Tre Mason, Auburn's leading rusher, only had six carries against Arkansas on Saturday. (Todd Van Emst/Auburn Media Relations)

AUBURN, Alabama -- All
but forgotten against LSU, Mike Blakely was given ample chances to carve out a
niche in Auburn's running back rotation on Saturday.

Blakely,
the No. 3 back behind Tre Mason and Onterio McCalebb, picked up 38 yards on
seven carries, including a 20-yard run and a 13-yard burst over the right side.

But
Blakely's problems with ball security could limit his playing time going
forward. After Arkansas scored to take a 17-7 fourth-quarter lead, Blakely
fumbled at Auburn's 40-yard line, the second time he's lost a fumble this
season in just 22 carries.

"We
are going to have to go back and really look," head coach Gene Chizik said.
"Any time you have guys that fumble the football, you are not comfortable with
any of that. It doesn't mean you are afraid to put them back in the game."

Both
of Blakely's fumbles have come at big moments. Against Louisiana-Monroe, he
fumbled on the 1-yard line as Auburn tried to take a three-touchdown lead.

"We
fought until we couldn't anymore, but we just didn't execute like we should
have," Blakely said.

Mason averaged 5.3 yards per carry, but he only got six attempts on the day, his lightest workload of the season. For the first time, the carries were distributed evenly, but Auburn's running game played second fiddle as the Tigers tried to attack Arkansas' secondary.

McCalebb finished with 24 yards on seven carries.

Sacks and penalties limited Auburn's ability to establish the running game. On six of the Tigers' first eight drives, Auburn faced a down-and-distance of longer than 10 yards.

"It's difficult when you get into a rhythm and the next thing you know, you have a penalty or a negative play when you shouldn't have a negative play," offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler said. "We threw at them what we thought would be successful."